Quake fallout: Northeast states draft disaster management policy

Nitin Gogoi in Guwahati

Several states in the northeast, which fall under seismic zone five regarded as the most
vulnerable earthquake-prone region, are slowly waking up to the need for a pro-active
disaster management policy to avoid large-scale death and destruction in the event of an
earthquake.

Tripura has taken the lead by issuing an order to ban construction of buildings with more than three storeys in the state.

Chief Minister Manik Sarkar announced on Monday that buildings in Tripura will be allowed to have a maximum of three storeys in view of the soil structure and the state's vulnerability to earthquakes.

In neighbouring Mizoram, the state government has initiated a series of measures to prevent
building collapses. Alerted by the Geological Survey of India, the government had put in place a model code of construction for future buildings.

Mizoram's capital, Aizawl, has become an urban nightmare with 80 per cent of the state's
700,000 population staying in the ever-expanding city. The growing population has witnessed
the construction of several high-rise buildings in Aizawl where hardly a couple existed till five
years ago.

According to official sources in Aizawl, only government constructions follow the strict building code applicable to highly seismic zones. No builder adheres to the code, they said. The state government is now determined to enforce the code, the sources added.

In Assam, the state government has issued detailed instructions to all district administrations to follow elementary procedures to minimise death and destruction. Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner C K Das, in a notification issued on February 1, asked all deputy commissioners (district collectors) to ensure that adequate number of tube wells are installed to ensure water supply to residents in case of a disaster.

Similarly, the districts have been asked to ensure that sufficient quantity of torchlights, batteries,
candles, hurricane lamps and matches are kept in readiness. The districts have been told to
keep adequate POL (petroleum, oil and lubricants) stock too.

In Guwahati, the Kamrup district disaster management committee will meet on February 10 to take stock of the preparedness of various wings of the administration.

Seismologists predict a major earthquake in the northeast in the near future. The last major
earthquake occurred in 1950, measuring 8.96 on the Richter Scale. It had caused the death of
over 1,500 people but more alarmingly changed the course of the mighty Brahmaputra which
inundated several human settlements and has caused death and destruction every monsoon
since.